Massaging apparatus



Dec. 16, 1969 Filed April 5. 1967 SHIGE O TAKEUCHI MASSAGING APPARATUS 5Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Dec. 16, 1969 su-nezo TAKEUCHI MAS SAGINGAPPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 5, 1967 INVENT OR ATTORNEY Dec.16, 1969 SHIGEO TAKEUCHI 3,483,862

MASSAGING APPARATUS Filed April 5, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY \Qw 7 00 9%!ATTORNEY Dec. 16, 1969 SHIGEO TAKEUCHI MAS SAGING APPARATUS 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed April 5, 1967 ATTORNEY Dec. 16, 1969 SHIGEOTAKEUCHI MAS SAG ING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 5, 19s?INVENTOR BY mamiona,

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,483,862. MASSAGING APPARATUS ShigeoTakeuchi, Nagoya, Japan, assignor to Takeuchl Tekko Kabushiki Kaisha,Kibacho, Minato-ku, Nagoya, Japan, a corporation of Japan Filed Apr. 3,1967, Ser. No. 627,944 Claims priority, application Japan, Apr. 13,1966, 41/ 23,370 Int. Cl. A611: 1/00, 7/00 US. Cl. 12833 2 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A therapeutic spot pressure applicationapparatus having a cushioned article such as armchair and bed, a fluidpressure generating mechanism within or outside said article, meanswithin said article adapted to be expanded by the fluid pressure fromsaid pressure generating mechanism to thereby apply spot pressure to anumber of points on the human body sitting or lying on said article.

The present invention relates to a mechanical spotpressure applicationapparatus which is used for therapeutic purpose.

Since olden times, finger-pressure treatment has been widely practicedin Japan as a part of the massage treatment by trained and licensedprofessional masseurs and 'masseuses.

With our life environment having been growing into more and morecomplicated one, month after month, with a kaleidoscopic flurriness inthe recent years, and with the rapid development in the means oftransportation of late resulting in a remarkable speed-up of vehicles,one cannot live without suffering a great deal of stresses imposed onhis body and nerves. The ever-increasing fatigue accumulated in our bodyin our daily life has led to an acute demand for the development of anideal spot-pressure application apparatus capable of mechanicallyproviding the effect of finger-pressure treatment given by aWellexperienced masseur at low cost.

On the other hand, the charges of masseurs and masseuses have leaped tosuch a high level, being stimulated by the hike of the livelihoodstandards of the general public, that a majority of workers such as daylaborers and automobile drivers who use their muscles all day long andwho, accordingly, acutely need quick recovery from fatigue are leftwithout any handy and economical means available for relaxing theirstiif shoulders and for relieving them of their accumulated fatigue.Development of such an eifective mechanical spot-pressure applicationapparatus as can be used in ones home, whenever desired, to relieve himof his fatgue and stilf muscles has been longed for also by elderly andaged persons.

There have been known several types of mechanical massaging apparatuses.However, none of them has ever successfully solved the foregoingrequirements, because of their functional incompetency. Moreover, thosemassaging apparatuses of the prior art have been very little welcome bythe users because of their failure in providing treatment in acomfortable manner due to their rigid structures and limited kinds ofaction and limited controllability.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a mostreasonable spot-pressure application apparatus designed so as to applyan appropriate amount of external stimulus of pressure force to variousspots (hereinafter to be also referred to as treatment points, asrequired) of human body to facilitate the circulation of the blood andto activate 'slow metabolism, thereby accelerat- 3,483,862 Patented Dec.16, 1969 ing quick recovery from fatigue and also providing the effectof reducing fat and superfluous flesh of man.

Another object of the present invention is to rovide an idealspot-pressure application apparatus which can impart the effect offinger-pressure treatment to the various spots in the five major regionsof human body, namely, the scrufi of the neck, back arms, thighs andlegs from the upper portion to the lower portion in a manner as if thepressure is applied with the fingers of a professional masseur and whichcan be freely controlled of the intensity of the spot pressure force andwhich can impart its user a comfortable and resilient touch of fingerpressure unlike the rigid, uncomfortable and limited massaging effectobtained from a conventional massaging apparatus, by the use of fluidpressure (air pressure, oil pressure or the like) system.

The drawings illustrate an example of spot-pressure applicationapparatus embodying the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the apparatus with part removed to show theinner construction;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus;

FIG. 4 is a perspective elevation, with part broken away;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a compressed-air generating mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view, in an enlarged scale, of a valve meansfor distributing compressed air and contained in the mechanism in FIG.5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the valve means of FIG. 6 inan enlarged scale;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of human body structure indicating varioustreatment points on the body surface; and

FIG. 9A, FIG. 9B and FIG. 9C illustrate the respective stages of themovement of the expansible spotpressure means during the operation ofthe apparatus.

Description of the present invention will now be made on the structureof a preferred embodiment by referring to the drawings.

The apparatus of the present invention comprises an armchair 1 having aback-leaning section 2, a seating section 3, an arm-resting section 4and a neck-resting section 5 and also an air-pressure generating means 6contained in the space under the seating section 3.

The armchair 1 is provided with casters 1' at four corners of the bottomface thereof so that the armchair 1 may be freely transferred to adesired place in a room or from one room to another. The neck-restingsection 5 is provided with an arrangement such that the neckreceivingmember of the neck-resting section 5 may be pivotally swung about theaxis of a handle 5' as the result of the forward and backward rotationof the threaded shaft of the handle 5' so that the position of theneckresting section 5 may be adjusted to the height of the upper half ofthe individual person sitting on the armchair 1.

The air-pressure generating means 6 provided in the lower portion of thearmchair 1 is equipped with an air compressor 7 and a motor 8 fordriving it. This motor 8 has a two-step V-pulley 9 which is secured tothe shaft of said motor. The driving power of the motor 8 is transmittedfrom one of the steps of said V-pulley 9 to the V-pulley 11 of the aircompressor 7 by means of a V-belt 10, and also transmited from the otherof the steps of the pulley 9 to a speed change gear 13 by means of aV-belt 12. Further from said speed change gear 13 the driving power istransmitted to a speed reduction gear 14 by means of a V-belt 12'.

The air after being compressed by the air compressor 7 is transferred,through a pipe, into a pressure tank 16 to be accumulated therein, withan unloader 15 being provided at one portion of the pipe. This unloaderis adapted to automatically discharge excess air from said pipe wheneverthe pressure of the compressed air accumulated in the tank exceeds apredetermined level so that an excessive compression of air in the tankis prevented.

Reference numeral 19 represents a valve means for distributingcompressed air having, rotatably mounted therein through O-rings, arotary member 20 having generally cylindrical shape and provided withone air-inlet bore 24 extending from one end face of said rotary member20 for a distance thereinto in parallel with the longitudinal axis ofsaid rotary member and also provided with two air-exhaust bores 28extending from the other end face of said rotary member 20 for adistance thereinto in parallel with the longitudinal axis of said rotarymember. An inlet member defining the mouth of the airinlet bore 24 isprovided on the one end face of said rotary member 20. A pipe 22extending from the pressure tank 16 is connected, by means of a rotaryjoint 23, -to said inlet member. An outlet member defining the mouths ofsaid air-exhaust bores 28 is provided on the other end face of therotary member 20. A V-pulley 21 is secured to said outlet member and isconnected with said V-pulley 21 by means of a V-belt 18 runningtherebetween.

Six rows of holes each consisting of four spaced holes are formedradially through the peripheral outer wall of said air-distributionvalve means 19 in such manner that each two adjacent rows of holes aredisposed on said peripheral outer wall at an interval of 60 degrees fromeach other and relative to the longitudinal central axis of the cylinderof said valve means. A joint member 25 is provided for each hole so asto form a total of twenty-four ports, namely, a to a*, b to b 0 to c dto 11*, e to 2 and f to f. These ports are connected by means ofconnecting hoses 26 to a plurality of longitudinally expansible means 27contained in the aforesaid sections of the armchair 1. As will beunderstood from FIG. 9, the longitudinally expansible means 27 areaccommodated in the openings formed, in an appropriate manner, throughresilient members 30 made of foamed synthetic rubber or synthetic resinwhich are covered by a cover 31 made of a leather or a cloth andconstituting the faces of the respective sections of the armchair 1.Said longitudinally expansible means 27 are anchored by means of screwsto steel frame member 1" secured to the bottom or back faces of saidresilient members 30. Each of the longitudinally expansible means 27 isprovided, at its upper end, with a spot-pressure application head 29made of a vulcanized rubber.

Referential numerals 32 and 34 represent a remote control switch and aspeed-change handle respectively which are mounted on a right elbow rest4 of the chair 1 and numeral 33 indicates a pressure-adjustment handlemounted on a left elbow rest of the chair. The spot-pressure applicationheads 29 of the longitudinally expansible means 27 are so arranged thatthey project sightly beyond the face of the cover 31 at normal. timesbefore the apparatus is put into operation.

Description will next be directed to the operation of the apparatus.First, the electric cord extending from the apparatus is connected to aplug socket of the power source, and thereafter the user sits on thearmchair 1 ina manner as shown in FIG. 1. Then, the user turns on theremote-control switch 32. Whereupon, the motor 8 is connected to thepower source and starts rotation, driving the air compressor 7 by meansof the V-belt 10, resulting in that the compressed air is supplied tothe pressure tank 16. On the other hand, the rotation of the motor 8istransmitted, via another V-belt 12, to the speed change gear 13, andthence to the speed reduction gear 14 through still another V-belt 12.The rotation which has been reduced of its speed by the speed reductiongear 14 is then transmitted, via a V-belt 18, to the rotary member 20 ofthe air-distribu i n a e mea s 19 so as to rotate said rotary member 20at a low speed '=(which is approximately in'the range'of from 20m 40r.p.m.). The compressed air coming from the pressure tank 16 is suppliedto the respective longitudinally expansible means 27 first through thegroup of ports a a The air inlet bore 24 is then progressively broughtinto communication successively with the remaining groups of ports,namely, b b 0 0 d d e e and f f and thus the compressed air issuccessively distributed to the longitudinally expansible means 27 ineach section of the armchair 1. The compressed air which has beensupplied to the longitudinally expansible means 27 which communicateswith the ports of the respective groups is then discharged outside theapparatus when said ports are brought into communication with theair-exhaust bores 28 after a predetermined lapse of time from the timeof the termination of their communication with the air-inlet bore 24 dueto the progressive rotation of the rotary member 20. Thereafter, theair-inlet bore 24 is again broughtinto communication with the pods dueto the progressive rotation of the rotary member 20, allowing thecompressed air to be supplied to the longitudinally expansible member27, again. In the manner as has been described above, the continuedrotation of the rotary member 20 causes the longitudinally expansiblemeans 27 to repeat longitudinal expansion due to the supply ofcompressed air and contraction due to the exhaustion of the supplied airat predetermined cycles, resulting in cycled application and release ofspot pressures to and from the body of the person sitting on thearmchair 1.

Description will hereunder be directed to the manner in which spotpressures are applied to the body of the user as the result of theexpanding and contracting actions of the longitudinally expansible means27 which are effected according to the above-described procedure, byreferring to FIG. 9. FIG. 9-A shows the longitudinally expansible means27 in their normal state prior to being actuated, each of the meansbeing of a height of H When the body of the user is seated on thearmchair 1, the longitudinally expansible means 27 are compressed, dueto the weight of the body of the sitting person imposed upon the means27, to assume the state of FIG. 9-B having a height indicated by H andthe surrounding resilient members 30 are also compressed to a statewhich is also shown in FIG. 9-B. With the subsequent supply of thecompressed air into the longitudinally expansible means 27 through theconnection hose 26, said means 27 are caused to expand longitudinally soas to assume a height indicated by H, in FIG. 9-C with the result thatthe spot-pressure heads 29 of the longitudinally expansible means 27exert a pressure against the body of the sitting person by a distance ofh. The upper faces of the longitudinally expansible cylinders 27 and thespot-pressure heads 29 thereof are provided with appropriate slits 27'and 29', respectively, so as to aid the contraction of thelongitudinally expansible cylinders 27.

As is seen in FIG. 8, there are scattered a total of about sixtylongitudinally expansible means 27, which correspond to the tips of thefingers of a masseur, throughout the entire faces of the armchair 1 inaccordance with the locations of the so-called treatment points whichare superficially scattered on the human body including the hollow ofthe nape on the neck. Namely, there are eight of them in the zonecovering the area from the neck to the shoulders; sixteen of them in thezone covering the area from the back to the behind of stomach; twelve'of them in the zones of both arms; and twenty-four of them in the zonescovering the thighs and the legs. It is needless to say that the numberof these longitudinally expansible means 27 may be increased ordecreased so as to meet the desire of the users. 7

As has been described in detail in the above, the apparatus of thepresent invention is operated in the following simple prOcedure.Specifically, the user, after seating on the armchair, is required onlyto manipulate the switch 32 located on the right arm of the chair,whereupon the apparatus is actuated to effect the spot-pressure actionswhich begin with the upper portion of the scruff of the neck anddownwardly to the shoulders; from the upper portion of the backdownwardly to the region of the behind of stomach; from the upper armsto the lower arms, and so on, as if the user is receiving afinger-pressure treatment from a well-trained masseur, and thespotpressure treatment is repeated in cycles continuously for a desiredlength of time until the user turns off the switch 32. In the event thatthe user feels that the force of the spot-pressure actions exerted bythe longitudinally expansible means 27 is weak, it is only necessarythat the user turns the pressure-adjustment handle 33 toward the sidemarked strong. This manipulation of the handle 33 tightens the spring ofthe unloader connected to said handle 33, which, in turn, will serve toelevate the pressure of the compressed air in the pressure tank 16, andaccordingly, the internal pressure of the longitudinally expansiblemeans 27 which is imparted by the supplied compressed air will beelevated, resulting in an increase in the force of the spot-pressureapplied to the body of the user. In case it is desired to weaken thespot-pressure force, it is only necessary for the user to manipulatesaid pressure-adjustment handle 33 in the reverse way. Furthermore, incase it is desired to increase the speed or the cycle of thespot-pressure actions of the means 27, this end is achieved by turningthe speed-change handle 34 in the desired direction, whereupon thespeed-change ratio of the speed-change gear 13 changes to alter therotational speed of the rotary member 20, and thus theexpansion-contraction speed of the longitudinally expansible means 27can be freely changed as desired. By an appropriately combinedmanipulation, as described, of the speed-change handle 34 and thepressure-adjustment handle 33, the user can obtain a desired sensationof spotpressure treatment in a manner required by the user such as (a)strong but slow, (b) strong and quick, (c) weak and slow, and (d) weakbut quick.

As has been described, the apparatus of the present invention providesresilient and rhythmical spot-pressure treatment in an effective mannersubstantially throughout the required areas of the muscles, and enablesthe user to be relieved of his fatigue during a limited period of timewhile the user is relaxing on the chair. The apparatus of the presentinvention also provides an outstanding advantage that a greater range ofspot-pressure treatment effect can be obtained by changing the materialwith which the spot-pressure heads are made and by changing their shapeas required. The present invention has further advantages that itsentire mechanism is relatively simple in structure and arrangement, andthat it can be applied not only to such armchair as has been describedbut also to various kinds of articles such as beds, mattresses andcushions by incroporating appropriate numbers of the longitudinallyexpansible means therein and also that the apparatus of the presentinvention can be modified to comply with any posture of the user asrequired so as to meet the individual purposes. Furthermore, in theevent that it is desired to give spot-pressure treatment simultaneouslyto a number of persons in an institution such as a large factory, as iscalled industrial massage, the invention is advantageous in that it canutilize the compressed air which is routinely used in the factory sothat a large number of spot-pressure application apparatuses in the formof, for example, armchair and containing no air compressors may beinstalled side-by-side relations and in rows. Thus, the presentinvention which utilizes fluid pressure can be termed as a mostreasonable and ideal invention.

In the embodiment illustrated, the longitudinally expansible means 27consist of bellows-type expansible cylinders. It is to be understood,however, that the cylinders 27 may be substituted by operative cylindersof other type utilizing fluid pressure such as air pressure and oilpressure, or they may consist of expansible air-tight bags made of amaterial such as rubber and vinyl. It is further to be understood thatvarious modifications of the invention may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A therapeutic apparatus for applying spot pressure message resemblingfinger massage to a patient body comprising means having a substantiallyrigid base and a layer of a resilient cushioning material havingthroughholes therein on the rigid base for resiliently receiving andsupporting thereon a patient, said cushioning layer being compressiblefrom its normal thickness under unloaded state to substantially reducedthickness under loaded state, a plurality of axially expansible bellowsmembers extending though said through-holes in said cushioning layer andhaving their bottom faces secured to said rigid base, said bellowsmembers having on their faces secured to said rigid base, said bellowsmembers having on their free top faces spot pressure application headseach having a substantially smaller cross-sectional area, each of saidbellows members being normally of such an axial dimension that the spotpressure application head is positioned substantially at the same levelas the top surface of the cushioning layer under unloaded state, eachbellows member being compressible by the body of the patient to such anextent that the spot pressure application head is positionedsubstantially at the same level as the top surface of the cushioninglayer under loaded state, there being provided such bellows members ofsuch number and arrangement that the spot pressure application heads ofthe bellows members are disposed in opposite relationship with at leasta part of a total of so-called treatment points scattered substantiallythroughout the surface of a human body excepting the head and the frontface of the body, means for generating fluid pressure, and means beingalways in communication with said pressure generating means and beingconnected to said bellows members through fluid passage lines, thelastly-mentioned means distributing the fluid pressure to said bellowsmembers in such a manner that each of said bellows members isintermittently and cyclically supplied with the fluid pressure whereby,upon supply of the fluid pressure, said bellows members expand axiallybeyond their normal dimensions to cause their spot pressure applicationheads to urge substantially perpendicularly against the surface of thepatient body at the corresponding treatment points.

2. A therapeutic apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in which said fluidpressure distributing means comprise an outer member having acylindrical inner surface and an inner rotary member having acylindrical outer peripheral surface in fluid-tight but slidingengagement with said cylindrical inner surface of said outer member,said inner member being adapted to be rotated with respect to said outermember at a predetermined speed, said outer member having therein aplurality of circumferentially spaced rows of ports each of which rowsconsists of a plurality of axially spaced ports extending through thewall of said outer member, said ports being connected to said bellowsmembers through fluid passage lines such as hoses and pipes, said innermember having therein a fluid distributing passage extending axiallytherewithin and having a fluid inlet at one end of said inner memberwhich is always in communication with said fluid pressure generatingmeans, said fluid distributing passage having fluid supplying orificesextending radially through the material of said inner member betweensaid fluid distributing passage and the outer peripheral surface of saidmember, said orifices being identical in number and axial arrangementwith said ports in each of said rows in said outer member, said innermember also having therein at least one fluid discharge passage axiallyextending within said inner member and opening at the other end thereof,said discharge passage having fluid discharge orifices extendingradially through the material of said inner member between the dischargepassage and the outer peripheral surface of said inner member, saidfluid discharge orifices being identical in number and axial arrangementwith said ports in each of said rows in said outer member, wherebyrotation of said inner member with respect to said outer membersuccessively brings said fluid supplying orifices of said fluiddistributing passage into register with the ports in successive rows insaid outer member to permit the fluid under pressure to flow from saidfluid distributing passage through said fluid supplying orifices to saidports and thus to the corresponding bellows members, the fluid dischargepassage in said inner member following said fluid distributing passagewith a predetermined phase maintained therebetween to successively bringsaid fluid discharge orifices into communication with the lastlyfluid-supplied bellows members for allowing the fluid under pressuretherewithin to be discharged through said fluid discharge orifices andsaid fluid discharge passage in said inner member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,164,356 12/1915 Kaiser. 1,684459 9/1928 Spilman 12864 XR 3,008,465 11/1961 Gal 12833 3,201,111 8/1965Afton.

L. W. TRAPP, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

